The Death of Kings

"In the fifth novel in the critically acclaimed John Madden series, the former Scotland Yard detective returns in a gripping post-World War II mystery that will delight fans of Philip Kerr On a hot summer day in 1938, a beautiful actress is murdered onthe grand Kent estate of Sir Jack Jessup, close friend of the Prince of Wales. The arrest of an ex-convict and his subsequent confession swiftly bring the case to a close, but in 1949, the reappearance of a jade necklace raises questions about the murder. Was the man convicted and executed the decade before truly guilty? Though happily retired from the police force, John Madden is persuaded to investigate the case afresh. In a story of honor and justice that takes Madden through the idyllic English countryside, post-war streets of London, and into the criminal underworld of the Chinese Triads, The Death of Kings is an atmospheric and captivating police procedural"--

This is a good read in a good series. As always the characters are interesting, the settings well laid out and the plot story line moves along crisply. Very well written series of books, I hope there is another one.

Had I read this in the early 50s I would probably have been more taken by the book. I commend the author for his capturing the staid English qualities of the time, but I found the story rather ponderous.

Ham-handed clauses that do not flow, wooden dialog and repetitive repetitive repetitive storytelling.

Sloppy research about China, leading to superficial, stereotypical and even flawed data. Wing is not a surname? Lee is not a surname?! 王 and 李 are like Miller and Jones. These phonetic spellings were (and still are) typical for Cantonese-speaking families, especially in HK and London.

There’s a bit of interesting post-WWII detail about English everyday life.

Miraculously, the last full chapter was solid, probably because Airth, in his wrapping up, was finally forced to tell a story in a disciplined and thus lyrical fashion.

An English "country house" murder mystery in the grand style of the golden age. Airth's deceptively understated prose style soon has you roped in to a puzzling, atmospheric, and suspenseful old-school police procedural, set in late 1940s Britain. Once again Inspector John Madden, now retired, investigates, this time with the assistance of his daughter. Fans of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Allyn mysteries will rejoice.

A ten-year-old cold case involving the murder of a young actress Portia Blake at a country house weekend gets fresh scrutiny when a jade necklace she wore turns up. Airth’s police procedurals are so well done. Since John Madden is retired now, we got to know his wife and daughter more in this one. Love this series.